A normal user's look into the world of 3D Stereo Technologies

Last month SpatialView has announced the release of a special version of their 3DeeCentral platform for LG Cinema 3D TVs, so that users could watch different stereoscopic 3D content directly from their 3D-capable TV set. The LG Cinema TVs shipped in Canada are supposed to already feature Spatial View’s 3DeeCentral as a premium app and it was supposed to be also available in the LG Apps TV Store worldwide, but after a check I still could not find it listed there in the LG Apps TV in multiple countries. But looking through the LG website with information about applications for their Cinema 3D TV sets I’ve found something else interesting, that there is another similar application released a few days ago – Yabazam 3D…

Yabazam is a similar platform offering stereo 3D content, both free and paid, to what SpatialView’s 3DeeCentral, but Yabazam is a platform being developed by DDD, the same guys that make the TriDef 3D software solution. Currently the Yabazam 3D is the most popular free application in the US LG Apps TV for example and it is also available for other non US users to download an try on their LG 3D TV set. So if you have a compatible passive 3D HDTV from LG, then you might want to try it, as well as the 3DeeCentral app if you manage to get access to it.

Another option also available is the 3D World coming from LG directly that also offers you a free 3D VOD service for watching some stereoscopic 3D content being made available by LG. You get to choose between a few different categories of content and unfortunately similar to the other two platforms, here with the 3D World app the situation is similar. There is not that much content available and you can quickly get to watch everything that is available already, but still, if you haven’t explored the extra functionality for using additional applications on your LG Cinema 3D TV, you should at least try this app as well.

What is still kind of a problem for both stereo 3D content delivery platforms however is that they do not yet have a lot of content in 3D format, so when you start using them you will quickly get to watch all of the available content and then you will have to wait for something new to appear and that can be quite annoying. Also these services are still far from offering the latest 3D movies that Hollywood is producing in order for you to use them instead of getting a Blu-ray 3D version of the movie for example, but this is something that could help them a lot an drive more users. Aside from getting them supported on multiple different 3D-capable platforms, something that they are already doing and constantly expanding the coverage to new devices.

LG Electronics its newest collection of 3D glasses, including a pair designed by the eyewear designer Alain Mikli, that will be introduced in the first quarter of 2012. The new line of passive 3D glasses will offer more stylish looking products – the F310, the clip-on F320 and the Alain Mikli F360 – are lighter and more comfortable to wear on one hand, and on the other the new design also offers features such as curved lenses and clean frame structure. So it seems that LG is apparently starting to move the focus from offering only cheaper passive 3D glasses, to offering affordable and good looking 3D glasses for its range of Cinema 3D TV passive 3D-capable television sets . Because the currently available range of passive 3D glasses that LG offers are not only cheap in terms of price, but also look cheap in terms of design and production and are not very sturdy and durable. Of course the new line of better-looking passive 3D glasses introduced should not be much more expensive than what the company already offers on the market, although prices have not yet been revealed…

The new LG F310 passive 3D glasses are characterized by a distinctive design that combines soft lines within a slim frame. Unlike many previous 3D glasses, the lenses have been curved to better accommodate the shape of the user’s face, as well as to improve the overall 3D viewing experience. The F310 glasses’ weight about 13.5 grams, making it about 20 percent lighter than LG’s previous design. The new LG F320 will be clip-on 3D glasses that are going to be even lighter at a weight of just about 5.5 grams, but these are of course designed to be worn over a pair of prescription glasses, so they need to be lighter. And the third new model has been developed in collaboration with Alain Mikli, the LG F360’s half-rim frame design is sportier and has a weight of only 16 grams. The lenses of the LG F360 passive 3D glasses have been curved and cover most of the user’s face, for a deeper immersion and better stereoscopic 3D experience. Besides being compatible with the Cinema 3D TV range of 3D-capable TV sets from LG, the new passive 3D glasses are also compatible with some 3D movie theaters that use RealD projection technology, as well as other compatible passive 3D displays.

3D Projection Mapping on a building such as the one of the theater on the video can turn out great if everything is working as it should, making the big crowd happy and impressed by what they are seeing. This time however the specific event, organized by LG Electronics, as a part for their ongoing Cinema 3D TV marketing campaigns has failed quite bad due to technical problems and thus leaving a lot of people unhappy. And even if they’ve managed to make it work properly more than one hour after the failure, most of the people have already left. I was really disappointed how LG Electronics failed with that whole event, especially considering the fact that this was the first large scale 3D projection mapping on a building done in my country. Promoting 3D technology in such a way is not a good thing at all…